


Keeping Appearances

by Goober



Series: The Emperor and His Hound [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Blood, Dirty Talk, Emperor Hux, Fighting, Hand Jobs, Kylux 2016 May Fic Exchange, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:52:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6752836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goober/pseuds/Goober
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You! Where in the hell were you, Ren?!”<br/>“I was looking for you, I heard — what happened?” Kylo’s eyes fell into the stranger’s face, pale and stained on the cheek with his own pool of blood.<br/>“I handled it.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeping Appearances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cormallen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cormallen/gifts).



> For the prompt:
> 
> Politics and scheming and assassination attempts, oh my! (Emperor Hux and Senator Kylo, or arranged political marriage, or the both of them scheming together or against each other in the Galactic Senate or the regular Senate, or even Kylo having to guard/protect the Emperor/General/Senator/Chancellor Hux in his capacity as a Jedi/Dark Jedi/Knight of Ren against assassination attempts -- just something involving political scheming)

Kylo was more uncomfortable now than he had been in what felt like decades.

Political matters were never his thing. Far too much talking with so little action, things said and done behind closed doors when it was much easier to rip what he wanted away from who he wanted — and having to attend a masquerade ball of all things was tedious. It was expected of him; Snoke would be highly displeased if Kylo refused to accompany the newly minted Emperor on his first public appearance.

All the same, he would have been more comfortable in his own robes.

Kylo frowned as he looked himself over in the mirror once more, smoothing out an invisible crease to find the smallest flaw in the outfit. Hux had insisted he wear it, when the Knight had outright refused to wear anything but his usual garb.  _ “Appearances are more important now,”  _ the former General had said as he shoved the clothing into Kylo’s hands,  _ “we need to play the parts we are given.” _

The clothing was nicely fitted and he didn’t think too hard on how Hux was able to find his measurements. It was various shades of black that didn’t clash, the tunic belted in the middle with a discreet holster that held his lightsaber. It would have been simple if not for the gaudy cape; made entirely of void black feathers that started out small and grew steadily longer, the shoulders dusted with specks of lighter grey from the small amount of plush plumage rather than the razor sharp ends. It was clasped together by the claws of the unfortunate bird, having been dipped in silver to create a stark contrast against the darkness of the rest of the outfit.

He felt like an oversized raven.

Hux was grossly poetic enough to turn his Enforcer into a literal representation of a raptor, and Kylo wondered why he had expected anything else from the man.

His bisected face was easily hidden through the near full face mask. It was gorgeous, he would give it that. As silver as the claws at his chest, spiked out into sharp, feathered ends by his eyes. A hooked beak stretched over his nose and just to the tip of his mouth, hooking out and away to give space between his lips and the metal. More bird nonsense.

Kylo had wanted to wear his mask, put off by the lack of a vocoder in the simple garment, but Hux refused. There was no point to the masquerade if everyone knew they were being watched by one of the more infamous, bloody Knights of Ren. At least with this they could pretend like he was someone else entirely.

The doors to his quarters slid apart as he donned the mask, eyes sliding to glimpse a flash of red hair. Hux walked into the room and adjusted the gloves on his slender hands, clearly not paying full attention to the man still lamenting over his appearance. When their eyes met at last Hux frowned, crossing the space between them to invade Kylo’s personal bubble.

His eyes ran down Hux’s clothing, mildly impressed. It was a mix between military and regal; a white uniform with a mixture of silver and black throughout. A cape redder than blood sat at his shoulders, longer than his greatcoat had ever been but about as flashy. It was so very Hux, down to the sharp but simple black and red eyemask in his hands.

“How do you even see past this mess?” He sneered, brushing back a clump of black locks, threading it through the edges of the silver mask.

Kylo moved it back with a shake of his head.

“Do make more of an effort at the gala than you have with your appearance,” Hux sighed. “This is important, Ren. I know you’ve done this kind of thing before,” he ignored the noise of protest, “so if you could refrain from throwing a tantrum that would be ideal. Remember, the Supreme Leader needs us to ensure the events of the night go well if we want to keep the delegates loyal to the Order.”

“I think I can manage,” Kylo grit out through his teeth, moving sharply away from Hux.

“Good.” The Emperor paused, as if he wanted to add something else. There was an odd look in his eye, but before Kylo could pry and see what it was, he decided against it. “Our ship will land within an hour, don’t be late.”

The gold and silver circlet nestled in the fireball of hair glinted in the light as he turned on his heel, striding out of the room with a renewed sense of purpose that Kylo could feel projected from him. He clenched his fist for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

It was going to take all he had to get through the night.

 

The problem with politicians was that they all thought themselves the smartest beings in the galaxy, and so a room full of them was often stifling.

Within moments of their arrival and introduction Hux had fucked off to mingle with the crowd, because that was what he did best. He was practically built for these things, leaving Kylo to stumble after. After a few moments of trying to find where the Emperor was, he gave up and moved to a corner of the room. A budding headache began to blossom behind his eyes at the sheer ego in the room. He wouldn’t dare use the Force here — everyone was overwhelming; each person projecting louder than the last, feeling so clever as they all but fumbled their way to try and one up the other. Kylo wanted to leave.

Instead he huddled in the corner of the large room on the second floor, back to the wall as he tuned out from their conversations, tried to ignore the pinprick of thoughts around him. But in the small moment of silence he remembered; Ben would do the exact same thing.

Ben who would be dragged around to political dinners like some kind of show dog, something for his mother to throw at the other senators to coo over and talk about his future as if he weren’t standing right there. Ben who resented the long nights and longer talks, feeling sick every time he was forced to dance with someone’s uninteresting child. Ben who would trick the kitchen staff into giving him extra desserts, who would send others away with a carefully placed command.

Kylo grit his teeth. There was no use in digging up a dead boy’s memories. Not here, not ever.

A door opening on the other side of the room caught his attention, eyes rising from where they were glaring into the floor. He managed to get a glimpse of red hair and their eyes met across the room before Hux closed the door behind him, leaving his bodyguard to pick up the space between them. Luckily no one was stupid enough to get in his way, a couple people actively moving from his path as he stormed by.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Hux didn’t look back at him. He was leaning on the railing of the balcony, looking out into the garden below. A stream of smoke blew out to the side, dissipating in the night sky. Above a pair of moons illuminated the crown atop Hux’s head, lightening the red of his hair to a paler shade. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“It looks like you’re taking extra effort to make my job difficult.” Kylo crossed the distance between them, hip against the railing as he looked down on Hux’s face from where he stood. “Is it your intention to be unguarded? If I can’t find you then I cannot help you.”

“I’m doing  _ my job, _ Ren. I would have thought growing up with these kinds of events you knew what would be expected of us.” He paused, then added, “I don’t need constant vigilance. I can handle myself.”

“Sure you can,” Kylo snorted, riled at his history being poked at again. “I’m sure if it came down to it, you could stop a blaster bolt before it struck your heart.”

“Not all of us need the Force to survive,” Hux said simply, taking another drag. “Do you think so little of my ability?”

“I think you were chosen as General because of your brain. You’ve never seen combat, nor did you ever have to, in order to become Emperor.”

There was a bit of silence before Hux’s eyes slid coldly towards him. “I’ve been in plenty of fights, a battlefield would have been a waste of my efforts.”

“Of course it would.” Kylo smirked, tilting his head so Hux could see it clearly below the mask.

He could see Hux grit his teeth but he didn’t respond, only stood up and smoothed out his uniform. Hux crushed what was left of his cigarette under the heel of his boot, turning with a dramatic rush of his red cape towards the door. The minute it shut (harshly) behind the redhead, Kylo let out an exhausted sigh.

He really didn’t want to go back in there.

 

An hour later Kylo was back in his corner, frowning hard behind the mask. There was an uncomfortable buzz in his head from the sheer amount of people and activity in the room, and he felt as though he could snap. The Force whirred like an irate creature within him; clawing to get out of a cage that was locked down tight, wanting to be used, demanding even the slightest freedom. He knew it would be a bad idea to tap into anyone’s minds here, if not a boring one. No one interested him, and Hux was nowhere to be seen.

_ Fine with me. _

He crossed his arms harder against his chest, half paying attention to a conversation about some Senator’s sick daughter. He took a breath in, and all at once, something didn’t feel right. The pit in his stomach warned him of something, and the sheer amount of unbalance in the air made his body tense up. Eyes scanned the room for the fifth time in as many minutes. Where was Hux? Kylo let out his breath as he pushed from the wall, scanning the top floor before he headed down the grand staircase to the main floor. Still nothing. Not even a flash of red hair. At least before he could catch a small glimpse, but now he was just  _ gone _ .

He regretted immediately when he allowed the Force to extend, searching. The headache that had been hammering at his brain only grew with the added stress of voices, radiating from the back of his head. No. That wasn’t right, that feeling hadn’t been caused by the Force.

_ Ren. _

Kylo whipped his head around, startling a young Twi’lek as he nearly crashed into her. He reached out again, the sting in the back of his head returning. He had the sensation of being dragged, then shoved. 

_ Ren. _

He rushed out of the main ballroom towards one of the hallways, striding down it in long steps. Down each splinter hallway he checked, looking for anything that could tell him what had happened. Each time he reached out the visions got clearer and clearer, and so did the voice projecting into his head.

_ Ren, for the love of — where the hell are you? _

He sprinted.

At the end of a narrow hallway he saw a dark haired man pin Hux against the wall, and Kylo was about to reach out and throw him off when the redhead shot forward. Teeth latched into the side of the man’s neck and gripped tight, ripping out and down as he pulled. Blood splattered the front of Hux’s white dress uniform, but he didn’t stop, continuing to tear the other’s throat. When he finally pulled free the man grasped at his neck, thick blood draining between his fingers. Saliva and blood dripped from Hux’s mouth as he kicked the man in the stomach, leaning back against the wall for balance.

The man fell to the floor with a choked gurgle, and Hux turned his head to loom over him. Kylo caught a glimpse of blood at the back of the Emperor’s head, a small cut around the middle that steadily trickled into ginger locks to stain it a darker red. His hands were bound behind his back by metal handcuffs, explaining the use of his teeth. When Kylo made to step forward Hux rounded on him, fury wild in his green eyes.

“You! Where in the  _ hell  _ were you, Ren?!”

“I was looking for you, I heard — what happened?” Kylo’s eyes fell into the stranger’s face, pale and stained on the cheek with his own pool of blood.

“I handled it.”

“Clearly,” he was about to argue when he felt rather than heard someone at the end of the hallway. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Hux hissed, unable to stop himself from being dragged by the arm into a storage closet at the other end of the hall. “Ren what the fu—”

“Shh,” Kylo motioned, slapping a hand over Hux’s mouth. He ignored the slick feeling of blood and saliva beneath his palm, just as he ignored the fuming glare Hux shot him. He crowded in close to the redhead, backing him up against the wall.

The sound of footsteps rushing by their door made the pair tense, and Kylo leaned in to breathe against Hux’s ear. “Stay put.”

He slowly stalked to the door, pausing to grip onto his saber before throwing the door open. Igniting the blade quickly he was able to deflect the first bolt shot to him, the energy crashing into the wall instead of his chest. Kylo moved in, the attacker’s blaster firing and being equally deflected. A second man turned the corner, and Kylo waved a bolt directly to his head, not stopping. When he was close enough he kicked the first man square in the chest, bringing his lightsaber down immediately to cleave a path from shoulder to hip.

As the man crumpled to the floor Kylo couldn’t sense anyone else, only Hux in the other room.  _ Only three?  _ He was surprised, but then again, the trio hadn’t seemed organized. He walked back to the room, leaning in the doorjamb.

Hux was a mess. Glowering in the corner with his front covered in crimson, blood dried onto his chin, hair wild, and eyes still narrowed with fury. Kylo could feel his frustration at the situation from where he stood, practically crackling around the other man as he leaned against the wall.

He looked fucking  _ gorgeous. _

“Excuse me?” Hux snapped, and Kylo realized he had said his thoughts aloud. “Quit fucking around and take these off.”

The Knight turned his head to one side, removing the mask from his face. “I don’t think so.” Kylo stepped into the room and took measured steps towards Hux, boxing him in against the wall once more. With half a wave the door slammed shut behind him, the loud bolt clicking into place. “Why waste the opportunity?”

“Now isn’t the time for your antics, Ren.”

“I didn’t think you had it in you,” Kylo continued, ignoring the Emperor’s words. “Some soft little daddy’s boy, never had to throw a punch to save his life. Look at you now,” he punctuated his words by slipping the mask from Hux’s face. Dark eyes scanned the pale lines of the redhead’s features, memorizing what he looked like with a mouthful of blood.

“You were wrong,” Hux sniffed, brows narrowing. “Can we go now?”

“You have no idea how you even  _ look _ .” Kylo leaned in until his breath trailed down from Hux’s ear to his jawline, lips so close to his skin he could practically feel the warmth beneath them. His front was flush with Hux’s, and when he dragged his hips across the other’s so he could feel Kylo’s half hard cock against his own, the Knight grinned at the small shudder in Hux’s body. “I want to fuck you.”

“You’re disgusting,” Hux protested, but there was a glimmer of something else in his tone.

When Kylo reached out and skimmed the surface of Hux’s mind he could feel the other’s reluctance to stop, could feel his own budding arousal as it pitted low in his belly. “I can feel you in there,” Hux huffed, breath hot against Kylo’s cheek as the man proceeded to nose at the redhead’s neck. “You’re not as sneaky as you think you are.”

Kylo only grinned against the exposed part of his neck, replacing Hux’s snort with an intake of breath when he laced open mouthed kisses on whatever bit of skin he could reach. Hux turned his head and Kylo could feel his breath catch as he dragged his hips over the other’s again, feeling the redhead’s cock hardening to match his own. “Maybe I don’t want to hide.” He sucked Hux’s earlobe between his teeth and rolled it between his teeth, satisfied at the little buck his hips gave in return.

The Knight ran one hand down the bloodstained front of Hux’s uniform until he could slip his fingers into the waistband of the uniform, dragging gloved nails over the soft skin of Hux’s stomach. He could feel the other react physically by the small jump beneath the pads of his fingertips, but also mentally by a sudden blast of  _ want want want  _ shoved into Kylo’s head.

“So eager,” he purred, leaning back to face Hux. His free hand dragged his thumb across the other’s bottom lip, scraping dried flakes of blood from it, before running up into his hair. As his hand grazed over the bump against his skull Hux flinched, hissing between his teeth. “Caught by the blunt end of a blaster,” Kylo observed mockingly, “didn’t I tell you not to leave my sight?”

“Didn’t I tell you I could handle myself?”

“With a bit of help, maybe.” Kylo’s fingers dipped lower, until he could press his palm against the straining underwear covering Hux’s cock. The small hitch of breath wasn’t lost on him as he continued. “I think I recall hearing you call out for me.”

“Shut up.” He could feel Hux turn pliant under his touch, his mind overrun with sensation and the need for more.

“And you ruined your outfit as well,” he chastised. “How long did you spend planning this, making sure it looked absolutely perfect for your first debut as Emperor? It’s a shame, really. Though I always knew it would look better on my floor.”

Before Hux could say anything else he closed the small distance between them, sucking and biting at the redhead’s stained lower lip. He tasted like copper and wine, tongue trailing over the other’s as Hux opened his mouth to groan into the kiss. It was uncoordinated, probably sloppy. But Kylo could care less, as he pulled down the band of Hux’s underwear and trousers enough to free his pearling cock. He swiped his thumb over the head, dragging down at the shaft until his fist met a nest of red curls.

Hux pushed back into his body, winding a leg around Kylo’s as the Knight continued to teasingly grad his fist over Hux’s length. The feedback he got from the redhead made him smirk into the kisses; the feeling of leather on his skin combined with the fabric of the tent in Kylo’s trousers were nearly too much. He had to mentally pull back, lest the experience be over before it started.

“Oh, you have no idea,” his Knight mouthed against his ear, tongue dragging along his neck. Kylo freed his own straining cock with his hand, enjoying the needy sounds Hux made when the contact to his was removed. “I’m going to have you on your knees before the night is over.” He ground his hips into Hux’s, his cock rubbing across the other’s and the back of his own knuckles. “You have a lot to make up for,  _ Emperor. _ ”

“ _ Fuck _ , Ren,” Hux breathed. He pushed his own hips back into Kylo’s, groaning at the slide of the Knight’s cock on his own. Kylo gripped them both as best he could, a moan of his own slipping from between his teeth as he latched his lips into Hux’s neck and sucked a hard bruise where he could taste skin.

Kylo could feel Hux wanting to fist his hands in the man’s raven hair, but Kylo did nothing to fix the situation. Instead he gripped harder on Hux’s ginger locks, making the man hiss and shudder beneath him.

He dragged harshly on the pair of them, the slide of leather against sensitive skin was nearly overwhelming. He let his thumb run over the leaking head of Hux’s cock, paying the most attention to the redhead. There would be time for him, later. More than enough time. Images of bending Hux over every hard surface in their ship made him bite down on the man’s jawline.

“ _ Yes, _ please. Fuck, Kylo —” Hux’s body started to tense, relative of his impending orgasm. It only took a few more projections of exactly how much he wanted to rip Hux’s uniform off and fuck him senseless before the man’s hips stuttered and he leaned his forehead against Kylo’s shoulder, going momentarily boneless.

As Hux came Kylo was soon to follow, moaning low into Hux’s collarbone as he held up both of them. When he came back to himself, Kylo waited for Hux to start squirming uncomfortably before he pulled back, letting the redhead lean against the wall for support. With a small wave of his hand the cuffs slipped off Hux’s wrists, and the man let out a sigh of appreciation. Kylo tucked them both back into their pants, before noticing the white smear of come on his robe.

“What are you doing?” Hux hissed as Kylo wiped the robe onto the jacket of his uniform.

“It’s white, it won’t show up,” Kylo dismissed with a smirk. He looked Hux over and chuckled low in his stomach. “You look like quite a sight; covered in someone else’s blood and your own come.”

“You better get me out of here without anyone else seeing me like this, Ren.”

“Hmm — if you ask nicely, I suppose I could.

“I hate you.”

“I know.”


End file.
